ISLAMABAD/CHANDIGARH: In another goodwill gesture, Pakistan government recently after according the status of Holy City to Hassan Abdal, has declared Nankana Sahib as ‘Holy City’.
Nankana Sahib is the birthplace of first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev and one of the most revered pilgrimage sites for the Sikh community not only in India but around the globe. Every year thousands of Sikhs specially from Pakistan pay their obeisance at Nankana Sahib.
The Sikhs had been raising the demand for granting the status of holy city to Nankana Sahib for quite a long time in the past.Pakistan Interior Minister, Rehman Malik made the declaration recently at a hotel in Islamabad during a dinner hosted to a delegation of Indian lawyers.
The Indian delegation was in Pakistan to attend International Conference of Lawyers organised by Pakistan’s Supreme Court Bar Association. Malik said Pakistan government had taken the decision to express its goodwill towards the Sikh community. There have been other initiatives taken by the Pakistan government to strengthen the ties between Indian and Pakistan. Indian tourists who are on a visit to Pakistan could pay their obeisance at Nankana Sahib, irrespective of the kind of visa they have been granted, a separate visa would not be required.
The pilgrims on their visit to Nankana Sahib will need not get registered by the police in future.
Rakesh Shahi, a senior lawyer, disclosed that Parveen Parakh, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association demanded that Indian lawyers should be granted one-year visa to Pakistan while Malik declared that lawyers from India will be entitled to five-year visa after they have submitted their verified documents.
President of Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association, Dalbir Singh Pheruman hailing the initiative taken by the Pakistan government, said a similar initiative can be taken by the Indian government to strengthen the bilateral ties between the two countries.
